After the storm of emotions gradually subsided, Vincent stepped out of the stall without another word, leaving Bryce behind.
Bryce remained equally silent, watching him leave without uttering a single word.
The instant Vincent stepped out of the stall, another heartbeat drifted into his ears. It wasn’t Bryce’s. Someone else was inside the restroom.
The frantic rhythm was enough to tell him that whoever occupied the stall had undoubtedly overheard everything that had transpired.
"Come out."
His voice was calm, and indifferent.
Silence answered him.
Even Bryce, who briefly thought the command had been directed at him, remained where he was.
"The third stall," Vincent clarified, his tone no different from before. "Come out."
Realizing Vincent wasn’t speaking to him, Bryce stepped out of his own stall, curiosity overriding everything else. His gaze fixed on the third stall just as the door slowly creaked open.
A young woman dressed in a janitor’s uniform emerged hesitantly. She looked about Bryce’s age. Bryce had seen her only a short while earlier among the group of janitors gathered outside the department office.
The girl’s face had drained of all color. Her entire body trembled, and she couldn’t even bring herself to meet Vincent’s eyes.
"Was there anyone else here?" Vincent asked evenly.
"No," she answered at once, her voice barely above a whisper.
Vincent closed the distance between them without another word. The closer he came, the more violently she shook.
Bryce’s eyes widened as sharp black claws extended from Vincent’s fingertips.
His heart lurched.
He couldn’t tell which disturbed him more.
Seeing claws emerge from human fingers for the first time...
Or realizing Vincent was clearly about to do something to the terrified girl.
"What are you doing?" Bryce demanded, but Vincent didn’t respond.
He placed one hand against the back of the girl’s head, his claws sinking into her skin as he closed his eyes.
Bryce’s entire body stiffened.
For one horrifying moment, he was convinced Vincent was hurting her. Just as panic threatened to propel him forward, Vincent withdrew his claws. He kept his palm pressed gently against the wound.
Seconds later, when he removed his hand, the injury had vanished completely, leaving behind flawless skin as though nothing had happened.
Bryce stood rooted to the spot, horror and disbelief crashing through. Without sparing either of them another glance, Vincent disappeared from the restroom with a speed Bryce’s eyes could barely follow.
Only after he was gone did the young woman blink.
She looked around with obvious confusion, as though she had suddenly awakened from a dream.
"Oh..."
Her eyes landed on Bryce.
"Newbie?"
She smiled faintly before walking toward the sinks.
"Are you here to work?"
Bryce simply stared at her.
What...
What had just happened?
She clearly remembered nothing of what had just happened, not even that Vincent had been standing there only seconds earlier.
Had Vincent somehow erased her memory? Was something like that even possible? He couldn’t begin to understand it.
_
Meanwhile, Vincent had already reached the hallway outside.
Even from that distance, he could still hear the girl’s casual voice and Bryce’s complete silence. He could also hear Bryce’s heartbeat pounding relentlessly, accompanied by the countless questions racing through his mind.
Vincent ignored them.
As he made his way back toward his office, only one emotion continued tightening around him.
Frustration.
Never in his life had he been this confused, and he despised every second of it.
He had always been a man who planned several moves ahead, someone who refused to leave anything to chance. Every decision had a purpose, every outcome remained under his control.
Bryce had shattered that certainty.
For the first time in years, Vincent couldn’t predict his own next step.
He had spent years convincing himself that if he ever found his true mate, he would reject them without hesitation.
The decision had seemed so simple.
Discovering that his mate was a man should have made the decision even easier. Instead, he found himself reluctant to follow through, held back by reasons that sounded almost ridiculous, even in his own mind.
For the first time, he carried a true Alpha’s mark, his own symbol that identified him, just like every other Alpha who had found and settled a bond with their destined mate.
It was something he had secretly envied for years whenever others displayed theirs with unmistakable pride, while he had always stood beside Leah with nothing to show.
For the first time, he had experienced a connection so deeply it reached beyond words. It wasn’t merely physical attraction. It reached somewhere primal, allowing them to sense one another, communicate through their thoughts in ways no ordinary relationship could ever offer.
Were those truly the reasons he couldn’t bring himself to sever the bond?
Were they enough to outweigh the years he had shared with Leah...
The years he had believed were built on love.
The thought unsettled him more than anything else.
What the hell was happening to him?
He needed to reach a final decision about what he truly wanted. Despite the turmoil clouding his mind, one thing remained beyond question. He was not going to walk away from Leah just to be with a man for no reason that truly mattered.
Leah couldn’t give him a child, but neither could his true mate.
The difference was that Leah was the woman he had loved for years.
The mark meant nothing on its own.
The primal connection meant nothing on its own.
Neither was worth throwing away everything he already had.
By the time he reached the door to his office, the confusion that had plagued him since meeting Bryce had finally settled.
He knew exactly what he wanted, and more importantly, he knew how to bring this uncertainty to an end.
Instead of stepping into his office, he turned toward the balcony. It was time to do what he should have done a long time ago.